Improvement in base-burning stoves



Patented Jrune 25,1872.

lvrrrn STATES PATENT FFICE.

IMPROVEMENT IN BASE-BURNING STOVES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 128,425, dated June 25,1872.

Specification of an Improved Stove invented by EDWARD Y. ROBBINs, ofCincinnati, Hamilton county, Ohio. j l

My invention is essentially designed to combine, with an open-gratedfire-front adapted to project a flood of luminous heat horizontally intothe lower part of the room, a central magazine for coal'or other fuelfed from the top, and, moreover, so arranged as to confine the activecombustion and flame to the front of the grate, and to direct it awayfrom the magazine, whosey contents remain unignited until dischargedinto the grate, the flame and incandescence being concentrated on thefront part of the grate and directed away from the magazine. Myinvention also comprises a doubleseated lid or cover, inclosing a spacebetween its seats and opening by a hinge, said space communicating withthe liue by suitable apertures for a purpose hereinafter explained. Myinvention further comprises a peculiar construction of tire-doors ordampers for carrying out the above objects. My invention also includesan automatic provision for entirely or mainly closing the apertures inthe fire-doors whenever the cover ofthe magazine is raised. My inventionfurther includes the provision, in the hearth-plate, of one or morepivoted traps or slats, capable of being brought to a vertical positionfor discharging ashes, and of being then brought to a horizontalposition flush with the said hearth-plate. My invention further consistsin a peculiarly-formed dumping-grate bottom, whereby the dbris at thelower part of the grate may be discharged without disturbing the fuelabove. My invention further consists in a provision of a falsebottomgrate for insertion in the front grate when it is desired to dischargethe spent matter from the lower part of the grate by means of said'dumping-bottom.

Figure l is a front elevation of my improved stove, one of the slidingdoors being shown opened and the other closed,4 Fig. 2 is a verticalsection of -the same'from front to rear.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section at the line l 1.

Fig. 4 is another horizontal section at the line 2 2. Fig. 5 is avertical section through the lower portion ofthe stove, showing themanner of using the false grate. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of thefalse grate. Fig. 7 is an enlarged perspective view, showing the mannerof attaching the bottom grate to the front of the stove 5 and Fig. 8shows the devices that prevent the accidental movement of the slats inthe hearth-plate.

The external shell A of my stove has, preferably, the oval horizontalsection and stepped vertical section represented, but maybe ofcylindrical or other form, and rests upon an ashpit, B, capable of beingwholly or partially closed at will by means of a hearth-plate, C. Justabove the hearth-plate there is an opening, D, to the fire-chamber M inthe shell, which opening is wholly or almost wholly occupied by a seriesof bars, preferably horizontal, constituting the front E of my grate.The grate bottom F is supported at rear on two hooks, G G', which at alltimes support the said rear, but permit the said bottom to be slidforward for dumping, as in Fig. 5, or backward for bringing said bottomgrate to its horizontal or normal position, as in Figs. 2, 3, and 7. Inthis latter position the front edge of said grate bottom rests upon thelugs H H. The top plate I of the stove has an aperture, J ofcorresponding shape but smaller size, from which depends a tube, K, ofoval horizontal section, open both at top and bottom, and whose lowerend terminates near or a little above the level of the' top bar of thegrate. Hinged to the said plate I is a lid or cover, L, which is tted tothe margin of the aperture as a seat to conne the smoke, and projectingdownwardly from the under side of the lid L is an oval iange, N, ofsmaller size than the lid, which ilange rests upon a ledge, O, extendinginward from the concave walls of the magazine so as to form a nearlyair-tight joint. The walls of the magazine between the seats O and Nhave several small orifices, P, which communicate with the annular ue Qthat intervenes between thefoutside of the magazine and the inside ofthe said shell, and which serve to conduct into said flue whatever smokemay leak through the lower joint or seat O when the lid is shut. Inorder to enable the lid to be tightly4 shut I provide a wedge-button, l,which engages and binds in a suitable socket for the purpose. At or nearthe rear side of the stove top is my collar or exit smoke-flue R. Tothis exit the ame would take a direct course through the annular ilue Qupward and round the sides and back of the magazine, whose contentswould become ignited by the heat communicated -and by the,`

suction of fresh air capable of supporting combustion through the openfront under and into the bottom of the magazine, causing the fire towork up into the same. To prevent this action, I providea flange ordiaphragm, S, which separates the annular space Q from the grate orvfire-chamber everywhere, except in front, where its omission forms athroat or passage, Q', through which all the smoke and ame beingcompelled to pass obliges these emanations to seek the front of thestove and leaves the magazine 1 comparatively cool and free from contactboth of flame and of air capable of supporting combustion. The diaphragmS may rest upon the tile or other lining of the fire-place, o'r may befastened to the shell of the stove, or the magazine may rest directlyupon the top edge of the lining, in which case the diaphragm S may bedispensed with, because my lining would in that case serve the samepurpose.

The open fire-front is closable by one or more doors, which may be ofthe sliding form, as shown at T T. These doors have numerous smalldraught-inlets U near their tops, which inlets are capable of beingnearly closed by an ordinary register or by a slide-damper, V, confinedin suitable guides behind the breast, and suspended by a rod, W,attached at its upper end to a lever, X, which, when depressed by theclosed lid, as shown in Fig. 2, operates to elevate the said slide; andwhen released by the opening of the lid, permits said slide to drop, andthus to automatically close the said apertures, so as to cause a stronginward current at the top of the stove, and to prevent the escape ofsmoke into th'e room upward through the magazine when the lid is open asaforesaid. That portion of the hearth-plate nearest the fire has anopening, closed b v one or more slats, c, or shutters, hung by pivots Z,at or near their proper axes, to the hearth plate, and connected by armsa and rod b to a sliding bolt, c', Whose motion in one directionoperates to open the slats and to place the edge up, as shown by dottedlines in Fig. 2, so as to discharge into the ash-pit or pan any ashesthat may have collected on the hearthplate, and whose motion in theother direction operates to restore said slats to their properhorizontal position, anduin which position their rabbeted edges d enablethem to lie perfectly flush with the top of the hearth and with eachother, as shown in Fig. 2. In order to hold them to such position, thebolt c may be secured in place by a button, or may drop into a recess orbe turned into a side slot, f, in the hearth-plate, or otherwise held inplace. The hearth-plate may also have a register, g,'for admittingdraught-air. As in this stove the fuel that has been longest exposed tocombustion will always be what is for the time being the lowest stratumin the grate, and from the nature of its construction and operation itwill be desirable to rid the fire of the spent dbris or ashes, cinders,&c., without disturbing the superincumbent portions of the fuel, I haveprovided that the grate-bottom, by beng'simply drawn forward, shall dropat its front edge into the ash-pan, without elevating the rear part ofsaid bottom. In all conditions of the stove, whether the doors be openor shut, the smoke coming forward meets the fresh air and becomesignited in front. This combustion of smoke is still more complete whenthe doors and ,hearth-plate are entirely closed, save at the limitedapertures at top of the doors, the effect of this closure being also tocheck combustion of solid parts of the fuel, thus placing the fire undercontrol, and enablin g the operator to lmaintain at will a more or lessactive combustion, as circumstances may make desirable. The sides andback of the magazine at bottom must rest upon and be tted tightly to thelining of the fire-chamber, or to the outer shell of the stove, so thatthere can be no draught or vent for the smoke or blaze or heat to get upfrom the nre-chamber into the annular smoke-chamber above, except infront. This may be done either by building the tile-lining of thefire-chamber up against the lower edge of the magazine, back, and sides,or by a ange or diaphragm around sides and back of magazine, extendingoutward, and fastened to the outer shell of. the stove, or by making aniron lining for the rechamber continuous with the back and sides ofmagazine. Either arrangement will force the smoke and heat forward, inorder to find an exit from the fire-chamber, and by this forward currentno fresh air will be allowed to reach the fuel in the magazine, but onlysuch air as has entered at or near the bottom of the grate and risen upthrough the whole body of ignited fuel in the dre-chamber, and become socompletely exhausted of its oxygen that it cannot ignite the fuel of themagazine.

My stove is particularly designed for bituminous coal, but will alsoanswer for the use of any other fuel. It is better adapted to the use ofbituminous coal than other magazinestoves for the following reasons:First, the arrangement of the bottom of the magazine, by which allbackward draught of fresh air under the magazine is prevented, and thusthe fire prevented from working up in the said magazine; and second, bythe fact that it is an open-front stove, allowing the fresh air to enterand circulate with the smoke around the outside of the magazine, thuskeeping the said magazine suciently cool to prevent all caking orsticking of the coal in said magazine, as would be the case withbituminous coal if the stove were shut up like ordinary close stoves.Even when the doors are closed, air enough will enter throughtheopenings at the top of said doors to prevent the overheating of themagazine. Thisis the purpose of these perforations.

I claim as my invention-- 1. A. stove whose fuel-magazine 1s arrangedabove the iire-chamberin'such a manner as to compel the products ofcombustion to escape from the latter upward, Wholly in front,substantially as herein explained.

2. The provision, in a magazine-stove, of a lire-chamber having thegrated open front D E, said tire-chamberbeing closed at its upperportion, at both sides and rear, and being arranged in such a manner asto exclude air from the bottom of the same, substantially as set forth.

3. A magazine-stove, consisting essentially of the shell A,lgrated-front lire-chamber D E M, magazine K, and flue or throat Q',said stove being constructed with the flange S or equivalent device forclosing the draught from the back and sides of the fire-chamber, as andfor the purpose herein designated.

4. I claim the double-seated cover L N, Fig. 2, fastened in its closedposition by the button I, Fig. 1.A which button, and also the lever X,Fig. 2, or either of them, Work in and through one or more of thevent-holes P, Fig. 2, for the supplementary purpose of keeping said holeor holes open and free from soot or other subtuminous coal.

5. The slide V, to partially close the openings at top of the door ordoors .T T', when charging the magazine, said slide being Workedautomatically by opening and closingthe cover of the magazinesubstantially as set forth.

6. I claim a supplementary grate for cleaning out the stove, constructedwith shoulder or shoulders 7', Fig. 5, together with upright front i, tohold it in position at any altitude at which it may be desirable toinsert it.

7. I claim the provision in a hearth-plate of one or more pivoted slatsor traps, 0, adapted to be turned up edgewise to let the ashes dropthrough, and, when turned down or closed, forming a level surface.

8. I claim the devices a b c f,or their equivalents, for holding orlocking the slats or traps in the closed condition. I

In testimony of which invention I hereunto set my hand.

EDWARD Y. ROBBINS.

Attest:

GEo. H. KNIGHT, J AMES H. LAYMAN.

